was an unspoken question in her gaze as he looked at her once again. “I thought maybe by looking at the files I might see something that was missed in the initial investigation. I’m not telling my father or my brothers that I’m looking into Mom’s death. I don’t want to upset anyone.” She paused a moment, then continued, “How long have you been a homicide cop?”
He suddenly knew what she wanted from him. “You want me to take a look at those files?”
She flashed him a grateful smile. “Would you mind? Maybe you’ll see something important, something that I’m not trained to look for.”
“Sure, I don’t mind.” He’d take a look at the files. It was the least he could do.
A few minutes later, the waitress delivered their food and Chase’s mind worked to process his thoughts and impressions. And the one thing that kept coming back into his mind was the fact that business was slow at Wild West Protective Services.
Somebody in Cotter Creek had worked with the men at MoTwin to identify the weak in town, the ranchers without family, the men who could easily be killed and their deaths look like accidents. Money had certainly changed hands…a lot of money. Had Meredith or one of her brothers panicked about the financial status of Wild West Protective Services and made a deal with the devil?
Yes, he’d look at the file concerning her mother’s murder and hope that in the end he didn’t take another family member away from her.
Dinner was chaotic. It always was when the entire West family broke bread together. Meredith let the conversation swirl around her, grateful that for the moment nobody was focused on her.
She’d had enough attention when each of her brothers had arrived at the ranch. They’d teased her unmercifully about her new haircut until her father had insisted they stop picking on her.
Red West had gazed at her for a long moment, a softness in his eyes. “You look exactly like your mother did when I fell in love with her,” he’d said, then hugged her. “She would have been so proud of you.”
His words had merely renewed her desire to get to the bottom of the crime that had stolen her mother. She and Chase had agreed to go over the file that evening, after her family had left and her father went to bed.
She cast a surreptitious glance across the table at Chase, who was in the middle of a conversation with Zack. There was no denying the fact that she was attracted to the Kansas City cop.
It had been over a year since Meredith had enjoyed any kind of relationship with a man. At that time she’d been working in Florida and had fallen into a relationship with a local man. It had lasted over two months, until her job in Florida had ended.
Todd Green had been a terrific guy and she’d hoped when it was time for her to return to Oklahoma that he’d beg her not to go, that he’d tell her he couldn’t live without her.
But he hadn’t. Instead he’d told her he’d had a lot of fun with her, but when he finally decided to settle down for a long-term committed relationship it would be with somebody softer, somebody less capable…a real woman who needed him.
She’d been devastated. Not so much because she’d been head over heels in love with Todd, but rather because his hurtful words had pierced through to a well of doubt and insecurities she’d secretly harbored.
How could she know what it meant to be a real woman when there had been no woman in her life? She’d learned martial arts and self-defense like her brothers. She’d been taught how to shoot a gun and how to assess a situation for danger. But nobody had taught her how to be a real woman.
Since Todd there had been nobody else. Until Chase McCall with his piercing blue eyes that for some reason made her feel oddly lacking whenever he gazed at her.
The talk at the table turned to the Fall Festival dance in three days. “The whole town shows up for the dance,” Tanner said. “Except Meredith, she always heads home before the band starts to play.”
“We’ve all decided she must have two left feet,” Zack added with a teasing grin. His wife, Kate, elbowed him in his side.
Despite the teasing, there was no denying the sense of unity at the table, the fierce loyalty and love they all felt for each other was on display, no matter who the guests of the house might be at the time.
Chase gazed at Meredith from across the table. “Surely this time you’ll stay. If fact, I insist you save me a dance or two just to prove to your brothers that you don’t have two left feet.”
The idea of being held in his arms even for the length of a song caused a stir of warmth to seep through her blood. She wanted to protest, to tell him that she never went to the local dances, but try as she might, the protest refused to rise to her lips and she found herself nodding her assent.
Chase and his mother had only been in town for three days, but each day had increased the annoying tension in Meredith. She’d tried to keep her distance from him, but it was difficult in the confines of the house.
After dinner there was another hour of small talk, then everyone began to leave. “Meredith, will you walk me to my car?” Dalton asked.
She looked at him in surprise. “All right,” she replied. Together brother and sister left the house and stepped outside into the chilly night air. Darkness had fallen and the only light was the faint glow of the moon drifting down from the cloudless sky.
“I assume you wanted to talk to me alone?” Meredith said as they crossed the expanse of yard to where Dalton had parked his car.
“I’ve got a favor to ask you,” Dalton replied. “About the dance on Saturday night. Even though you said you’d be there at the dinner table, I thought you might sneak out early. I know dances aren’t your thing, but could you hang around and entertain Chase and his mother for me?”
Meredith had already decided to skip the evening festivities despite the fact that she’d said she would save a dance or two for Chase. Her experiences at the occasional town dances had never been pleasant ones.
“Why do I have to babysit your guests?” she asked, a touch of irritation deepening her tone.
Dalton grinned, leaned over and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Because you’re the best sister in the whole world and I have a date with Melanie Brooks for the dance.”
She wanted to decline, she so didn’t want to do this, and yet Dalton had never asked her for anything. She also knew he’d spent the past month working up his nerve to ask pretty Melanie out on a date. “All right. I said I’d go, so I’ll go and make nice to your friend and his mother.”
“You’re the best.”
“That’s what you guys always tell me when you’ve managed to talk me into doing something I don’t want to do.”
Dalton laughed and got into his car. She watched as he drove down the lane, his headlights eventually swallowed up by the darkness of the night.
She wrapped her arms around herself and remained standing in place for a long moment.
